On the defense and his teammates, Del Zotto told the Rangers website that the core players have grown together and feel comfortable playing on any pair. He added, “we have a lot of offensive power back there and guys who can skate the puck. We are confident and feel we are one of the core groups in the league.

Del Zotto added that he is looking forward to working with new assistant coach and former Rangers defenseman Ulf Samuelsson. Del Zotto said that he is looking forward to working with a player who has that kind of resume and that he expects Samuelsson to help him get better.

If everyone is healthy, Falk and Johnson would be the spare defensemen.

All of the defensemen except for McDonagh and Staal are either restricted or unrestricted free agents after the 2013-14 free agents.